


‘Til the Clock Runs Out

by Firekitten



Category: RWBY
Genre: A story full of sickening amounts of fluff, Get it? Sickening?, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 13:55:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17899382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firekitten/pseuds/Firekitten
Summary: While taking care of a sick Taiyang, Qrow recalls the time when their situations were reversed and realizes that they’ll always be there for each other.





	‘Til the Clock Runs Out

**Author's Note:**

> Written entirely because I'm a bit under the weather myself and came to the awful realization that I haven't yet done the cliched 'take care of the sick boyfriend' trope for these two yet. So I'm making up for lost time!

Coughing awoke Qrow immediately.

It took a moment or two to adjust to the bedroom’s only light coming from the moon spilling through between the curtains, splashing silver slats along the wood floors and across the end of the bed. Definitely too early to be up. The sentiment was shared by his partner, who gave a weak groan and another violent round of coughing.

Qrow stretched out his legs and turned over, looking up at the lump of blanket beside him. He reached out, tugging down the edge until he could see Tai’s face. He brushed the back of his hand along his forehead. “You’re really hot.”

One corner of Tai’s lips quirked up into a smile and he croaked out, “You know it, beautiful.”

“Save it, Casanova.”  He replied, amused, though it quickly shifted into concern when the other buried his face into his pillow, whole body jerking with his coughs. “Alright, I think some medicine’s in order.”

The pathetic moan was the only answer he got.

Qrow slid out of bed, slipping through the door always left open in case one of the girls had a nightmare. The hallway was drafty and he kind of regret not grabbing a shirt or some slippers as he padded barefoot along the ice-cold floor. Out of habit, he paused once he reached the first bedroom, peering inside. Yang was a sprawled mess, golden curls and limbs everywhere, her blanket having been kicked completely off the bed. Ruby was sleeping more soundly, curled up on her side. Their newest addition, Zwei, was cuddled in her grasp, little snout resting on the pillow.

Though he knew he was playing fate, he tiptoed into the room as carefully as he could, having to step around wooden blocks, action figures, a ball and two chew toys, before he finally got to Yang’s bedside. He picked up the knitted quilt, unable to help admiring the mismatched patterns as he tucked it around his niece. The whole team had made the quilt together before Yang had been born. Each fourth of a section was obvious whose side it was, right down to Tai’s dragons and Raven’s flowers, to Summer’s dogs and his birds. It was honestly the ugliest thing they’d ever made and they’d never been so proud.

Ruby had one as well, though made with only three hands instead of four. They filled in the fourth side by letting Yang pick what it should be – and being two at the time, she was innocently unaware that perhaps dinosaurs and fire patterns didn’t send the best message. He looked back at the little squirt still resting soundly with her puppy, wondering idly if maybe they should make one for Zwei next. A tiny puppy quilt knit by the four of them.

Qrow shook off the inane idea, wondering if he was somehow channeling Tai spiritually now. Maybe they’d finally just spent so much time together their personal auras had intertwined.

Who knew, maybe tomorrow he’d be gardening and shopping for zip-off cargo pants.

He shuddered at the thought, ducking back out of the room, miraculously not tripping over anything or rousing anyone. Distantly, Qrow could still hear Tai giving his most valiant effort to bring up a lung, so he quickly got back on track as he hurried down to the first floor. As soon as he flipped the switch, he had to blink away spots as the kitchen lights assaulted him, hip-checking the table in his partial blindness.

“Stupid.” He grumbled at it, rubbing at the mostly non-existent ache as he crossed over to the pantry, shuffling through the top shelf where they kept the medicine hidden away. He shook out the painkillers and filled the cap of cough syrup, before pouring a glass of water, letting the tap run hot first.

The motions were much too familiar because he’d done it all at least a hundred times before. He and Raven had gotten sick often after they’d relocated to Beacon; especially during their first year. Their immune systems were so unaccustomed to Vale’s vastly different ecosystem that any virus just wandering on by saw they were prime real estate and moved right on in. It made for a very miserable experience.

During those days, Summer and Tai mostly let them be, only getting things when explicitly asked. It hadn’t been because they didn’t want to help, because they did, especially Summer who would dote on them in suffocating amounts if allowed to. But he and Raven refused all attempts at their teammates playing ‘nurse maid’, leaving them to find subtle ways of helping them. Granted, Summer’s best attempt at subtlety was acting like a medicine fairy by leaving cough drops on their nightstands. Tai tended to be a little more discreet, like offering to fetch lunch for one of them under the guise of getting it for the whole team. Most of those instances were just hazy memories, disjointed and brief, but there was one Qrow never quite forgot, the events playing with almost startling clarity.

It had been a stormy night in November, the wind howling as it rattled the trees and rain pattered noisily against the window. It wasn’t particularly late in the evening, the rest of his team still doing homework, but he was feeling rather lethargic, so he had turned in early, hoping to sleep away the sickness. Instead he found himself only restlessly tossing about. The lingering chill in the air had him shivering under two sets of blankets, but the fever was mild compared to the pain in his throat. It was as if someone had taken a blade to the back of it, leaving dozens of tiny, little cuts along the lining of his esophagus until every swallow was like an agony worse than throwing salt into a wound.

Tai, who was in the bed right next to his own, eventually looked up from the chapter he was reading and asked, “Qrow? You alright?”

“My throat’s killing me.” He rasped back, voice so distorted he could hardly tell it was his own.

Tai frowned, the genuine concern on his face only making Qrow wish he hadn’t said anything at all. He set aside his textbook and shifted until he was sitting up. “You want some painkillers?”

“Mmno. Not working.” He turned his back to him. “Don’t worry ‘bout it. M’fine.”

There was a hovering pause between them, drawing long enough Qrow was certain the issue would get dropped. But then the bedsprings shifted as Tai got up, chirping almost merrily, “Hold on. I know just what you need.”

He watched him go, the blond only pausing long enough to snatch his vest from his bedpost and hurrying out their bedroom door with a quick, “Be right back!” to the girls before they could even think to ask where he was going. Qrow didn’t remember how long Tai was gone but he did remember how he returned, all of them looking over when he finally walked back inside.

Summer took one look at him, gaping as she pointed towards the window still being pummeled by rain. “Did you go all the way to town? In _that_?”

“Yep!” He was looking more triumphant than a man should when soaking head-to-toe and only having a small, plastic shopping bag to show for it. He dropped it onto the desk with a wet plop.

Raven’s expression was one of someone who didn’t know how to compute this rare brand of stupidity. “Why?”

 “Home remedy.” Was his only answer as he kicked off his shoes. “Now uh, little privacy ladies? I really need to get out of these clothes.”

Tai didn’t wait for their agreement, already yanking off his jacket and undershirt. Summer gave a squeak, shoving her face in her notebook. Raven just rolled her eyes, turning back to her phone. Qrow just pulled up the blankets further and didn’t look.

Alright, alright. He peeked, just a little.

“Okay, I’m decent!” Tai eventually called, towel-drying his hair until it was nothing but an untidy mess before going back to the desk where he’d left his mysterious ‘home-remedy’.

Qrow watched him curiously, quickly realizing the familiar motions as the blond went about brewing up a kettle of tea. It made no sense; he knew Tai had plenty already here in the room. Why go through the storm for more?

He found out the reason was in a little jar of amber-gold liquid that Tai carefully took a spoonful of and stirred in. He wasn’t really sure what to make of it, so as he was being encouraged to sit up and handed over the cup, he mostly just stared between it and the brewer suspiciously.

“It’s just chamomile tea and honey. I promise.” Tai said, holding up two fingers like a salute. “A few cups of this’ll make you feel much better. The honey will help lessen the swelling in your throat. And chamomile is like, a SuperTea; it’s good for everything.”

Qrow wrinkled his nose some. Honey? As in the waxy, sweet stuff in beehives? The tribe only gathered that if they had someone with burns; the painful stings combined with the insects’ tendency to swarm usually drew them away for anything less. And people here could just buy it in a jar? And had enough to spare to throw it into their drinks?

Society was weird.

He doubted a bunch of sugar being poured down his throat would really make a difference, but he was desperate enough to try anything. He sipped slowly at the hot beverage, the taste of it – or what of it he _could_ taste at least – surprisingly pleasant. Tai went back to his book, but always seemed to know when he’d finished a cup, happy to hop up and pour him another.

Qrow didn’t start noticing a difference until he started on his third, the pain seeming to lessen little by little. By the time he was through with his fourth, he could have believed he was in heaven with how much relief he felt. He hummed softly as he leaned back into the pillows propped up along his headboard, hugging the lingering warmth of the cup between his hands. He was almost content enough to doze off right then and there.

“Want another?” 

“Nah. M’good.” Qrow peeled his eyes open, turning his head some. The girls’ side of the room was dark, the two having gone to bed a little bit ago.

Tai stifled a yawn, looking about ready to faceplant in his book. “Well, this is a good place to stop anyways.” He dogeared the edge, setting it on the nightstand. The cup joined it next, their shared lamp being turned off.

In the dark and with the girls already asleep, he finally felt brave enough to say it: “Tai?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

“Anytime buddy.”

The past hazed into the present, the smile he imagined on Tai’s face ten years ago now a warm, caring reality greeting him as he crossed the room, balancing the tray on the nightstand.

“Gee, with this amount of preamble, I was thinking I was getting a four-course meal!” The blond quipped, voice having gotten scratchier in just the few minutes he’d been gone.

“Sorry, not your butler, just your drug peddler.” Qrow handed him the painkillers and lukewarm water once he’d sat up.

Tai chuckled, swallowing them without complaint. It was when he was given the cup of cherry cough syrup that he hesitated, turning to look up at him with eyes so sad that puppies would have adopted him. “Do I have to?”

“Gods, you’re more dramatic than your daughter.” He snarked.

“Which one?”

“Whichever choice offends you more.”

“Wow you’re getting lazy if you’re making _me_ finish the insults for you.” Tai laughed – only for it to result in a new round of coughing. Served him right.

Qrow propped a hand on his hip. “Drink the damn medicine.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He groused back once he could breathe again, doing a mental countdown before taking down the medicine in one go, quickly chasing it with the rest of the water, shuddering overdramatically against the taste.

“Here’s your reward for being an adult.” He said as he traded the glass and medicine cap for a tea cup.  He placed the tray onto the ground where it would be safer.  

Tai took a slow, savoring sip before saying, “Not sure a guy like you can give those rewards.”

Qrow ignored that in favor of diving back into the warm bed, rolling into the blankets and curling his arms underneath his pillow to better nestle into it. He had to fight the urge to immediately drift off. Instead, he angled his face enough to confirm, “Guess I’m subbing for your class tomorrow.”

“Yeah.” Tai wilted, head like a drooping sunflower bud as he hunched over. “Sorry.”

He shrugged as best he could. It wouldn’t be the first time. Sure, keeping track of twice the amount of students wasn’t exactly the easiest of tasks, but he’d managed before. Tai just always acted like it was something to feel guilty about; as if they both didn’t have those days when getting up in the morning seemed impossible. “Eh, whatever. Your rugrats are nothing compared to mine.”

“Probably because you don’t teach them manners.”

“That’s not part of the syllabus.”

That finally got him to smile again. “You’ll have to get the girls ready for the morning too. Unless you want me to wake up with you?”

Qrow flipped onto his side, getting more comfortable. “Nah, no point risking you getting ‘em sick too. I got it.” He yawned some, tacking on drowsily, “Just worry about feeling better.”

“Alright. G’night.”

“Night.”

Things grew quiet. Qrow started to slowly drift. Just as he was on the edge of dreamland, he felt the warm touch of fingers brushing his bangs aside and the press of a gentle kiss on his forehead.

“Thank you.” Tai said, so soft it was almost missed entirely.

Though he could not rouse himself enough to answer verbally, it did not lessen the strength of his mind that whispered back:

_Anytime._


End file.
